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Six Chinese nationals were sentenced to life in prison by a Kampot Provincial Court on Wednesday on charges they tortured and murdered a South Korean student reportedly trafficking into an online scam compound.
The death of 22-year-old Park Min-ho in August last year triggered a diplomatic backlash with South Korea, which issued travel bans for parts of Cambodia, imposed sanctions and helped establish a joint anti-scam task force.
The group was also charged with aggravated fraud. The trial began on May 6, a court statement said.
South Korean media reported Park’s family last saw him in July 2025 before he traveled to Cambodia to “attend an exhibition.” A week later, the family reportedly received a ransom call demanding 50 million won ($33,100), with the caller claiming Park had “caused trouble.”
Park’s body was later found near Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, long reported as a hub for scam compounds.
The South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Jina Kim, who visited Phnom Penh after Park’s death, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Telegram.
The multibillion-dollar online scam industry that has flourished across Cambodia and Southeast Asia in recent years relies heavily on trafficked labor, according to the United Nations. The U.N. estimates the compounds generate tens of billions of dollars annually and employ at least 300,000 workers from dozens of countries, many of them trafficked, forced or coerced into the operations.
Cambodia has expanded a nationwide crackdown on the industry following mounting international pressure and sanctions targeting alleged operators inside the country, including senior officials and foreign nationals who obtained Cambodian citizenship and advisory roles to officials.
Authorities said they have shut down 91 casinos and more than 250 online scam locations between July 2025 and mid-April this year, while deporting more than 13,000 foreigners allegedly involved in the industry, though it did not clarify how many may have been trafficked or coerced.
Amid criticism that the campaign has stopped short of prosecuting complicit officials, longtime leader and Senate President Hun Sen called on authorities to also pursue officials profiting from the industry.In recent months, authorities have removed a provincial police commissioner from office and sent two senior officials to court over alleged bribery linked to scam networks and money laundering, while reassigning several police commissioners and provincial governors.
